Research A-Z: Primary Sources

Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event or period and may include newspaper articles, letters, diaries, interviews, laws, recordings, and photographs.  A civil war diary and a YouTUBE video are examples of primary materials.

Sources for primary materials:

• Reprints in books
• Microfilm
• Archives of the original materials such as Fondren’s Woodson Research Center or Houston Public Library’s Houston Metropolitan Research Center.
• Patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for primary scientific and technical information.

A number of library research guides have a specific section on primary sources, such as the following:

• American History
• Chinese Studies
• English Literature
• Shakespeare Resources

For other guides do a keyword search with the phrase "primary sources".

Search the library catalog for primary sources.  Use subject keywords for your topic and words like "diaries," "personal narratives" or "interviews".e.g. Spain and civil war and diaries

Search the Manuscript Collections of Fondren Library's Woodson Research Center. These collections include original source material such as diaries, letters, photographs, drafts of literary and scientific works, audio and video recordings, legal documents, and much more.  

Geisel Productions Web Series defines primary (versus secondary) sources of information. UCSD Social Sciences & Humanities Library  [3:01 minutes].